


Steal Your Heart!

by smileflxwer



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Thieves, F/M, Mentions of Death, Mentions of Violence, Thief AU, Violence, lots of language, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:07:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26607214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smileflxwer/pseuds/smileflxwer
Summary: A group of notorious thieves that live in a corrupt Kingdom work together to steal from the rich in order to give to the poor. While the Kingdom works hard to catch them all and get rid of anyone who tries to rise against them/betray them, each of the thieves find themselves having different encounters with people who will change their lives - whether it be for the better or for the worse.【reposted from my tumblr blog: heartshxkr】
Relationships: Boo Seungkwan/Reader, Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Reader, Chwe Hansol | Vernon/Reader, Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Reader, Jeon Wonwoo/Reader, Kim Mingyu/Reader, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Reader, Lee Chan | Dino/Reader, Lee Jihoon | Woozi/Reader, Lee Seokmin | DK/Reader, Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Reader, Xu Ming Hao | The8/Reader, Yoon Jeonghan/Reader
Kudos: 7





	1. Diamond Girl ღ Choi Seungcheol

_“I’m so fucking tired of having this same damn fight every night!”_

Every night. It wasn’t an overstatement. All you ever did anymore was fight. There was no romance in this relationship anymore. Though, you had to wonder, if there ever actually was any to begin with.

“Then stop fucking going out every night to sleep with random girls!”

He was supposed to be marrying you. You were his future wife. You were the one he held close and told he loved right before you got engaged, even if it wasn’t really your own choice. But that shouldn’t have mattered! You had loved each other… _right?_

“Sorry, princess. Can’t do that. You’re not any fun anymore.”

“Never call me that ever again,” You growled. “And if you have had your fun with me, why the hell did you even go through with this engagement?!”

“Awww, why not? I am the prince that rescued you from your loneliness and turned you into a beautiful princess after all, remember?”

He mocked you. Your stupid drunken words from months ago coming back to haunt you.

“Besides, I’ve told you over and over again, my dad basically said I will be cut off and won’t get to take over the business if I don’t go through with this stupid arranged marriage. Apparently our parents' partnership is most important. Even if we both know your father deals with shady shit.”

“Shut up!” 

It was a weak reply. But it was all you had.

“Why? We both know that’s the only reason why your family has any actual money. Honestly, you should be honored you even get to marry me, despite basically still being the ratty girl who lived on the streets just a couple years ago before we met.”

“God, just fucking leave already! I’m sick of hearing your voice!”

You knew he was just pushing you to get what he wanted. And it worked. But you didn’t care, even after he got that smug smirk on his face and gave you a very mocking, _“Thank you, honey,”_ before slipping out the door. 

He didn’t even bother trying to kiss you. There was no pretending behind closed doors. Even then, you refused to let him touch you anymore.

As soon as he left, you immediately slid down into the nearby chair of the living room, sobs leaving your lips almost instantly. _How many times have you cried over this shit now?_ You weren’t sure. At first, it was over his very obvious cheating. He wouldn’t even deny it. He had no genuine interest in you aside from getting you into bed a couple of times and then using you to get what he wanted from his father. 

Lately though, it’s been due to his nonstop harsh words. Of course, you fought constantly, but he basically never had a single nice thing to say to you anymore. Such a stark contrast from the man you had fallen in love with. 

You remembered it so clearly still. Like he had said, your family was extremely poor before obtaining money from your father’s shady business deeds. You weren’t sure what he did exactly, but you knew it was in no way legal. But you quickly climbed up the social ladder, and you were certain he was just like all the other rich people who paid to get away with their misdeeds. 

Corruption. It was what the entire class of the wealthy was full of. Despite technically being one of them, the daughters and sons of other families all chose to ignore you. Well, unless it was by order of their parents. But they were never nice about it. It wasn’t until you met the man you were to marry that you had anyone treat you kindly. He had been so sweet. So kind. He remarked how awful it was that you had been clearly mistreated by the others there at that party you were forced to attend.

You were under his spell. So of course when both of your families suggested the arranged marriage, you were ecstatic. And perhaps many felt you both still had those same feelings. You acted like a happy couple in public.

But, that was clearly so far from the truth. The moment you moved in together, everything went downhill. 

So now you sat in an empty living room, crying your eyes out yet again. Over a man you knew you were going to be stuck with in just a few more months when the wedding came to pass. 

Times you thought about running away, but you couldn’t deny you were afraid. Where would you go? You knew now that there was no one you could trust. And even if you detested your father’s actions, it was still your family. Part of you didn’t want to let them down.

You were trapped. 

It only made your choked sobs come out louder, you didn’t even hear the sound of someone coming in.

Well, of course you wouldn’t have anyway. He never made a single noise. He never did. The one who came in was a master at sneaking in places without being heard, after all. He was never spotted either.

Tonight, however, that would change. 

He was a thief. Not a heartless monster. He just wanted to be able to steal a little bit of unneeded jewelry or something that would never be noticed. Enough to feed and take care of his family of 12 other people. And of course, anyone else nearby he could offer food to.

He was a thief. But he was a truly kindhearted soul. So when he saw you sobbing on the chair, he wanted to help. Even if it was against his better judgement. It was risky. He was wearing his mask though, so even if you did somehow call someone before he could stop you, he would be out long before they got there and you would have no description of his face. It wasn’t the best choice. No, but if he made good choices, he wouldn’t be a thief now would he? And he knew that if he left you alone to cry, he would feel terribly guilty. 

“Do… Do you need someone to talk to?”

His voice was soft, and still a bit hesitant.

You jumped at the unfamiliar voice. When did someone get in here with you…?

You quickly turned to look at the stranger, face covered in a mask and dressed head to toe in black. … And you screamed. Loudly.

So, maybe this wasn’t Seungcheol’s best decision he’s ever made. The boys would chew him out for this later and he would never hear the end of it.

“No, no, no, don’t scream! It’s okay! I’m not gonna hurt you!”

“Who the fuck are you?! Why are you in my house?!”

That was… a very good question. What the hell was he supposed to say to that?

“Uh… I’m S.Coups.”

_“S.Coups?!”_

As in… the notorious thief? _That S.Coups?_ Shit really couldn’t get worse for you tonight, huh?

“Yes. But! I’m not gonna hurt you! You just seemed upset.”

Oh, that was definitely bullshit. He just wanted to catch you off guard and trick you. Well, it was somewhat working. But not entirely! You weren’t gonna fall for anymore shit like that.

“And why, may I ask, is someone who is clearly only here to steal from me, so curious as to why I’m crying?”

He knew you didn’t believe him. Not for a second. He couldn’t blame you. Everything about him screamed shady. Maybe even deadly. Though, for the record, he’s never killed a person. Never. Despite what people may think, even thieves have their limits.

“Yes, I’m here to steal from you. But I’m not heartless! I can grab a couple expensive pieces that’ll fetch me a good price and still listen to your problems. It’s the least I can do considering, well, I’m still gonna steal from you.”

“How heroic of you,” Your voice was dripping with sarcasm as you finally properly stood up and brushed yourself off.

“If you don’t want the offer I could simply tie you up or knock you out, whatever you would like. That’s only if you plan to stop me, of course.”

“Listen, your offer is generous, I suppose. But I’d rather not talk about my problems to someone who broke into my home to steal my shit, thank you very much.”

He laughed a bit. “I can’t argue with that, I guess.”

“But… I won’t stop you either.”

“... Huh?”

He was genuinely shocked. Maybe you were just smart? You knew what would happen if you attempted to stop him, but still, it didn’t make much sense. In this short conversation you didn’t seem very much like the type of person to back down.

“Steal as much from my future husband as you would like. I don’t give a shit what happens to his stuff. His room’s over there.”

You gestured to a room down a hallway to the right of the living room. You didn’t bother to take him there yourself, you despised that room. 

He eyed you, still wary. “You don’t care at all?”

“Not a bit. Take as much as you like. In fact, feel free to come back and steal more from him!”

“So I’m guessing this man is why you were upset?”

“That’s not your business. Now go do your job before I phone the police.”

But you wouldn’t. You knew you wouldn’t unless you feared for your life. But he did not know that. So he raced to get enough of what he came from and was ready to bolt the moment he was done.

“What you said about coming back, you’re serious about that?”

“Absolutely. I truly do not care if he loses everything.”

“Guess I’ll see you in about a week then.”

He grinned, not that you could see it, and slipped off into the night through a window you had opened to let in the cool night air just a couple moments before. 

You knew this was a horrible way to deal with your problems. But you wanted to punish him. Make him suffer. And if S.Coups slowly stealing everything from him would do that, even a little bit, then it was worth it. Even if it meant you had to sacrifice some things as well.

Didn’t mean you trust the thief though. Not even for a second. You knew letting him back into your home was risky. But even if your main motive was revenge, you couldn’t help but feel like you were helping out a bit as well. He didn’t dress as though he was some wealthy person. In fact, the only valuable thing on him (aside from what he stole) was the mask that he wore that appeared as if he was about to head out to a masquerade. You understand the situation he was likely to be in well. So who were you to deny him access to money he needs?

Meanwhile that same thief was entering his hideout, well, more like a very old run down house in the forest just outside of town. Most people would never even believe such a place existed among the trees of the forest. The only who really knew were the few who grew up there. 

A small orphanage. There were never many people there. Just a small, warmhearted old woman and her equally kind husband. They took in thirteen children. Some were dropped off as babies, some came here due to terrible tragedies that befell their parents. Seungcheol remembers his situation. Not fully, he was only five at the time. The memories were still there, though.

His mother loved him. He knew she did. But she couldn’t afford to care for the both of them. Hell, she could barely afford to care for herself. It was meant to be a temporary arrangement. He was only supposed to live there until she was able to get enough money for them to live comfortably. He saw her every week for nearly a year.

One day she stopped showing up.

The little couple did their best to contact her, but nothing. Of course, Seungcheol knows now she went missing, but as a child he was terrified she had abandoned him. Feared that he had done something wrong and she no longer cared about him. As for now, he wasn’t quite sure what happened to her. The police never really cared to look into her case. Just another woman who was overwhelmed and ran off. He knew that wasn’t true now. Despite what his child self feared, she would never just leave him like that. Likely, she was dead. 

He knew full well of the shady business in town. The rumors of people going missing and being killed because of it. Everyone who’s in a position to stop it simply turned a blind eye for their own benefit. Perhaps what he did wasn’t legal, but at least he didn’t actually harm innocent people. He had a family to fend for, one he had now become the father of, essentially. Their adopted parents (well, they were to them - technically they could actually be adopted at any time, but no one ever came to the orphanage beforehand unless to drop off a child, and now no one comes at all as they believe it’s long abandoned) passed years ago. Seungcheol sort of made it his job as the oldest to take care of them all, even if they weren’t exactly all children anymore. He didn’t care. They were a family regardless.

Though, that didn’t stop some of the others from helping him in his thieving business. Some didn’t actively rob from the rich, like Jihoon, who took care of negotiating and selling what was stolen. Some did join in, of course. Jeonghan, the second oldest, was probably even better at it than Seungcheol. And probably had way too much fun. But that wasn’t the point. Perhaps one could call this a family business of sorts. Though they didn’t let the younger ones assist. Chan, the youngest, wasn’t even allowed to think of becoming a thief yet. Maybe because they did have some hope for him to not end up like them. Even if they knew that wasn’t likely.

A very confusing family full of thieves. It was certainly odd to an outsider, but perfect to the thirteen there. Especially Seungcheol, who was instantly crowded by the other twelve the moment he entered through the door.

“How was our fearless leader’s collection today?” 

Leader. A title he would never get used to. But, by all logic (and decision by the others who refused to let him argue), he was the leader of their little group.

He grinned, “You’ll never believe what happened.”

He dropped the bag of a couple of clearly expensive small items onto the table, before engaging the others in the story about this woman he met.

“Do you even realize how stupid that was of you?”

Ah, Jihoon. Always the voice of reason. “I know…”

Just because he was the eldest and their leader, doesn’t mean he wouldn’t get chewed out for this.

“I couldn’t leave her alone though. She seemed so upset.”

Jeonghan smirked from across their little table they were seated at. “She was cute, huh?”

“Huh?!”

“Well, you gotta have some sort of attraction to her, right? That’s why you helped her?”

“Wha-- No!”

He knew Jeonghan was just teasing him. But that didn’t stop him getting a bit defensive.

“He’s blushing! That means you’re right!”

One of the younger boys, Seungkwan, shouted from across the room.

The room started to get rowdy as they began to shout and cheer about how they couldn’t wait to meet their new ‘mom.’ 

He loved his brothers, but damn if he wasn’t tired of their shit sometimes. 

Unfortunately he wouldn’t hear the end of it, especially when next week arrived. Weird, how simple teasing can somehow make Seungcheol so nervous. Of course he thought you were pretty, but you were engaged - even if clearly not happily. And it wasn’t like he knew you weren’t gonna suddenly turn on him and try to turn him in. He barely knew you! He was there only there to do his job, anyway. 

Oddly enough, you were nervous too. Though for entirely different reasons. It seems your fiance had noticed one or two of the items that went missing and your fighting had increased even more. That was, when he was even actually there. Your house was practically empty the majority of the time aside from yourself.

It was lonely. Suffocating. And despite your nervousness that you would get caught letting this man steal from your home, you also oddly wanted the company. Sure, you didn’t trust him for even a second, but he was entertaining. Perhaps the crippling loneliness was finally getting to your head a little too much.

A third part of you knew the likelihood he would even come back was low. Why would he? As far as he knew you would be waiting here with the police ready to get him arrested.

But he actually showed up. You thought it was especially funny he came knocking on the back door that was hidden from the streets.

“A notorious thief knocking on my door? Seems a little odd.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “Thought I’d be polite and not scare you this time. Also, it’d be easy to make my getaway if you had decided to get me arrested.”

“You make a good point, I suppose.”

“You certainly seem more cheerful than last week,” He noted, heading towards the room he went to last time. 

“Maybe my little revenge plan has got me in a better mood.”

You knew it was a lie. But you wouldn’t admit any company that wasn’t the man you were trapped with would bring you happiness. 

There wasn’t an extreme amount of conversation between the two of you as he got what he came here for, but you didn’t mind. The silence was almost peaceful now. It felt weird to admit that you actually liked it.

But it ended quickly as he was prepared to leave as soon as he filled his bag. 

“Well… See you next week?”

What do you say to a person you basically have an arrangement with to rob?

“Uh, yeah. See you!”

And like that, he was gone. You hated to admit you already missed him.

But he came back. Again and again. Even though every week you thought you’d never see him again. Your conversations began to get longer and longer and it was really enjoyable. You didn’t really think you could consider him a friend exactly, but perhaps that was just your brain wanting to keep as much of a distance as possible.

You couldn’t deny the blossoming friendship though when one night you impulsively asked if he would like to stay a little while for something to drink. And to both his and your surprise, he actually agreed.

“So… why do you do this? Um, if that’s okay to ask.”

He was honest, even if it wasn’t the full truth. “I have a family to take care of. And also I give out the extra money to those around town who need it.”

You weren’t shocked at the first part, but the second was surprising to hear. Of course, he always displayed himself as a gentleman, but these days it was hard to believe anyone did something kind for others without something in return. “Really?”

“Really. I understand what it’s like, so I want to help them in any way I can.”

His smile was kind and gentle, the kind that reached his eyes. Yes, he had taken his mask off - once again against his better judgement. God, he was making so many mistakes around you. He wondered why that was.

He remembered Jeonghan’s words in the back of his mind, but quickly shaked them away. Absolutely not. No way. That couldn’t happen.

“That’s… really sweet. Hm, how big is your family then?”

“Including me? Thirteen people.”

_“Thirteen?!”_

You almost dropped your glass had S.Coups not reached over to make sure it stayed in your hands. “Oh! Um, thank you.”

You knew a blush had grown on your face from his hands touching yours, but you were sure it was simply the closeness. You weren’t used to others being that close to you these days outside of your parents. Well, hardly even them anymore. They were far too busy with your father’s business. Something they were extremely disappointed you refused to take part in.

He chuckled lightly. “Yeah, there’s a lot of us. But they mean the world to me.”

“I can tell.”

The fondness was clear on his face. It was obvious he would do anything for them. Your heart tugged slightly, wishing you had a family like that.

“What about yours?”

“Mine?”

You were surprised he would even ask. “Um… We’re not that close anymore. We used to be at one point, but a lot has changed…“

The sadness was heavy in your voice. Seungcheol wanted to do something to help you. Something to comfort you. He didn’t even realize what he said before he said it.

“Maybe you should come meet my family someday. I’m sure they’d love to invite you to be a part of it.”

_Oh no. Oh no he fucked that up big time._

At least he thought he did. Until he saw you laugh at the suggestion. “Sure. I’d love that.”

Your soft smile. Perhaps that was what made Seungcheol realize. Realize that for certain these feelings he had been pushing down was in fact romantic. Without a doubt.

_Fuck. He really was screwed._

Even after he left it was all he could think about. That and of course how late he was heading back home.

The boys would never let him live this down.

He knew that before he made it back, and especially when he heard them talking as he stood outside the door.

“You think he finally got caught?”

Jihoon’s voice. Always the voice of reason as usual.

“No way! I bet he’s still with that girl!” 

Soonyoung.

“Should one of us go check on him and make sure he’s okay?”

“If he’s still with her then I wanna go!”

“Soonyoung, you know you’re not allowed to do thief business on your own. Not after the Incident.”

“Seungcheol!” 

Everyone in the room perked up when he finally walked through the door. Well, minus the boy who he called out who began to whine as he slinked down into the old couch. “That was one time!”

“Actually, it was _five_ times if I counted correctly,” Chan pointed out as he poked his head into the room.

“Who cares?! I want to meet the girl our leader’s madly in love with!”

“I’m not. Even then, you’re not meeting her.”

“Why _noooooooooot?_ ” 

“Because he doesn’t want you to admit to her how much he likes her,” The third oldest, Joshua, and Jeonghan finally enter and take a seat next to Soonyoung. 

“That’s not fair! I promise I won’t say anything!”

“Soonyoung, that’s not why. She barely even trusts me, I’m not letting any of you scare her off and screw up this deal.”

He wasn’t happy about it, but at least he finally seemed to give up on going with Seungcheol. “Can we at least know her name? You won’t tell us anything about her aside from the basic details.”

For once, it seemed like it was Seungcheol’s time to tease them. By withholding all information about you that he wanted to. “No. You can just call her Miss Mysterious.”

It was a ridiculous nickname he had given to you. You were extremely secretive and hardly let him know anything about your life, so he thought of the little name on spot. You hated it. Well, at least you told him you hated it. It was obvious though by the smile on your face that wasn’t actually the case.

“Boring. Give her a better name,” Minghao called out coming down from the staircase, Jun right behind him. Literally right behind him. Nearly tripping and causing the two to topple down the rest of the way. 

“Watch your step, idiot!”

“But Seungcheol’s talking about his girlfriend! He never does that!”

Their ‘fearless’ leader sighed. “She’s not my girlfriend and you know that.”

“But she will be! With how long you stayed with her tonight I bet you two definitely like each other.”

“She just invited me to have a quick drink.”

“ _Ha!_ So you were with her this entire time!” 

Soonyoung cheered from the couch that he was correct.

Another sigh. He really was never gonna get anywhere with these boys in making them believe he didn’t have feelings for you. Even if he actually did. And he just fully realized it that night. But that wasn’t the point! Even if he did like you, he couldn’t act on those feelings. He’d just have to wait out for them to go away. 

Much easier said than done. Because they weren’t going away. In fact, they were only getting stronger. Especially seeing as since that night you two were only spending more and more time together.

It didn’t help on your end that slowly, he was breaking away at your walls. You didn’t want to say you trusted him 100%, but somehow part of you knew he would never hurt you. And it was a little scary. You were afraid of trusting someone and having them show their true colors again and hurting you.

He had so many chances to hurt you though, and he never did. Meanwhile, your shitty future husband continued to hurt you everyday. Shouting every time something else of his went missing. Call you more and more names. It was taking a toll on you. 

But you feared ending your arrangement with S.Coups. You were terrified of the idea of never seeing him again. He was important to you, and you knew it.

Which is why you could clearly hear your heart racing as he laid in your bed next to you one night. Nothing had happened. You may have hated your fiance, but you would never stoop to his level. That, and of course your favorite thief was a complete gentleman as always. It was just a long day, and you didn’t feel like leaving bed. So you invited S.Coups to join you.

You were laying across from each other on the bed, on your sides so you could face each other and talk about life. Perhaps it was because you were so drained of everything and just desperately wanted someone to listen, or perhaps it was because this man had become so important to you. But you told him every detail of your life. Tears in your eyes as you got to what had been going on lately.

He reached over softly and wiped away at the tears rolling down your cheeks. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”

“Because S.Coups, I--”

“Seungcheol.”

“Huh?”

“Seungcheol. That’s my name. I want you to call me that.”

There was a small, hopeful smile on his face.

He trusted you fully. Completely. He actually told you his name. The other thing next to his face that could completely destroy him.

Your heart nearly leapt out of it’s chest.

“Well, Seungcheol, it’s because I don’t want this to end. It’s… hard for me to admit, but you mean so much to me. I can’t stand the thought of losing you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I don’t?”

“I’d never leave you on your own, even after this deal ended. But, I have another suggestion as well.”

“What is it…?”

“As the last thing I do as a thief under this arrangement with you, let me steal you away from this place.”

“What?”

“Run away with me. I know, life won’t be perfect or anything, but I promise you that you will be happy. And that we’ll all take care of you and never let you go back there.”

Run away with him…? It was a promising idea… But what about your family? The deal wouldn’t happen. And your fiance wouldn’t get what he wanted, not that you actually gave a shit about what happened to him.

You were hesitant. How could you be sure this wouldn’t end terribly for you?

You couldn’t deny though, you wanted to go so badly. You hated it here. Despised it. Even if life wasn’t great with thieves, you couldn’t deny it would be so much better than your current situation.

“I… I want to but… Can you give me a little more time? To prepare?”

You could see how happy your words made him. “Of course. How much do you need?”

“Um… Just one day. I think I can get everything settled by tomorrow night.”

“Perfect. I’ll be here at my usual time to get you.”

It was a deal. You spent some more time talking after. Seungcheol told you his full story as well. It broke your heart, especially even more so knowing it was likely the business your dad had ties to that caused his mother to go missing.

But he was aware. And not even the tiniest bit did he blame you. He was too kind.

It was all you could think as you watched him leave through your bedroom window into the late hours of the night. 

He was far too kind. 

_And it was making you realize you were deeply in love with him._

As you promised him, you had everything put together by the end of the day. You had even written a letter to your parents explaining that while you still loved them, you couldn’t approve of what they were doing and that you were leaving. 

Seungcheol, meanwhile, was running a tad bit late, which worried him a lot. But he had to wait for Minghao to put the finishing touches on your new mask, a staple of being a part of the family at this point.

He was racing, but he didn’t know that unfortunately there was another issue going on right now.

“Where the fuck did you hide it, you bitch?!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Another shouting match. The night you were supposed to leave. Your shitty fiance was refusing to leave until you told him where all the shit you ‘stole’ from him was hidden.

“I know you took it! Now where is it?!”

“I didn’t take anything from you!”

“Of course you did! Just because you’ve got money now, doesn’t mean you’re not still the trash that came off the streets. You greedy fuckers would do anything for money.”

You were just gonna leave the ring he gave you behind. That was the plan. But the plan was ruined. And you were sick of it. Tired of being treated like you were worth nothing.

You ripped the ring off and threw it at his chest. “That’s the final fucking straw! I don’t care if you don’t get your precious company, I fucking refuse to marry you!”

It was clear you only angered him more. “The fuck are you talking about? You don’t get a choice in this!”

“Yes, I do. And I refuse to marry your disgusting ass.”

“Why you little--”

He raised his hand to hit you. He had never tried to do that before, but somehow, you weren’t surprised that he was going to try to.

You prepared for the slap, but it never came.

Instead you saw nails dig deep into your now ex’s arm. _“Don’t you dare fucking touch her.”_

“Who the fuck are you?!”

He shouted, now trying to turn around to throw a punch at Seungcheol. But Seungcheol’s grip was too strong, and was able to throw your ex into the table that you and him had sat down to have a drink at just a couple months ago for the first time.

Glass shattered everywhere. But that didn’t stop the man from slowly pulling himself up to throw another punch. Seungcheol, who was shocked by the fact he just threw someone into glass, wasn’t able to avoid it as it came, but he was able to grab onto the wrist of the fist that hit him.

He wasn’t gonna kill this man. Of course not. Despite how fucking awful he was to you. Seungcheol wasn’t like that. But, there wasn’t much choice when it came to knocking him out. He hated hurting people, he genuinely did. But as he reached for the half full wine bottle on the table and smashed it against your ex’s head, he knew he did what he had to do.

The man fell over with a thud and before anyone had a chance to make sure he wasn’t gonna get back up in a moment, Seungcheol lifted you up and jumped out the window he had come in through.

Luckily your bag had already been in your arms by the time the fight was over, knowing you had to get out of there as quickly as possible. It wasn’t much, just a few things that were very important to you, along with a couple of clothes. Not too many though, you know you’d have to replace your wardrobe to avoid people from finding out where you went.

Once you made it to the woods and away from almost all human activity aside from his brothers, he gently put you down.

“Are you okay,” he asked, checking you up and down for injuries.

“I should be asking you that! You’re the one who got punched!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

Ya know, aside from the obvious black eye starting to form underneath his mask.

You shook your head. “No you won’t be. Let me take care of you this time, okay?”

He had known you long enough to know you wouldn’t back down from that. “Alright. I guess.”

You grinned, “Okay! Now let’s go meet this family of yours!”

It didn’t take long to get back to the orphanage. And it took not even a second for all twelve boys in the house to crowd around you, asking a hundred different questions at once.

“Woah! So you’re the girl Seungcheol’s been talking about!”

“What’s your name? He refuses to tell us since we keep teasing him!”

“Where did you come from?”

“Did you bring anything for us?”  
  


“Are you gonna be our new mom now?”

“... Huh?”

The younger boys started chanting, “New mom! New mom! New mom!”

“Cut it out! All of you!”

Seungcheol shouted, not wanting you to get overwhelmed. Though he couldn’t deny they were embarrassing him as well.

But to his surprise, you started laughing. “Wow, you all are so much better than Seungcheol told me. I’ll answer all of your questions, just give me some time, okay?”

They agreed, though some were a little impatient. But you answered their questions like you promised. First while making sure Seungcheol had something to put over his eye, and then while sitting down and eating dinner with them for the first time.

They were a loud bunch, and honestly you had a hard time believing that they were actually a family of thieves. But you supposed that was their appeal.

Later while the others were going about the rest of their business for the night, you and Seungcheol sat outside looking at the stars.

“So what do you think so far?”

You smiled. “I genuinely love it here already. Thank you. For stealing me away from there.”

He laughed, but blushed slightly at your words. He knew you were referring to what he said to you the previous night.

“Just doing my job as a thief.”

Which was when it hit him.

“Wait! I didn’t give you your mask yet!”

“My mask?”

“Consider it a mark of being a part of the family.”

He pulled it out from his pocket, handing over the softly made mask that was decorated in your favorite colors.

“Seungcheol…. It’s beautiful.”

“Heh, thank Minghao. He’s the one who made it. I just helped him out with what to do design wise.”

He knew what you loved. He listened to every word you ever told him. It meant so much to you.

A peaceful silence washed over the two of you, as Seungcheol debated his options.

Surely, this was a good moment to kiss you. But, you just got out of a relationship. He couldn’t do that to you. Not yet.

“So…. Um, are you gonna kiss me or not?”

“... Huh?”

“I mean-- I just thought that-- Well, you don’t have to if you don’t want to but--”

He is flustered beyond belief. You wanted him to kiss you? He couldn’t believe it! But, he wanted to kiss you too.

So he quickly collected himself and placed his lips softly against yours before you could finish your very broken sentence.

You two sat there like that for a good moment, only pulling away once you heard the noise of a group of boys going “Oooooo,” in the background.

“We were right! She is our new mom!”

“New mom! New mom! New mom!”

_“You all….”_

Seungchol sighed in annoyance, jumping up to go after them, with you laughing harder than you ever have at the sight.

You loved it here already.

Only a couple weeks later, there were rumors going around in hush whispers of the notorious S.Coups having a partner now. Someone they were referring to as, _‘Miss Mysterious.’_


	2. Risky Business ღ Lee Jihoon

Being a thief was such an odd business. Of course, many would argue it was no business at all. Jihoon would have a select choice of words for those people. Being in charge of the items that were stolen and making sure they were sold for a good price and collecting the profit along with distributing it was perhaps the hardest job he’s ever had. Not that he’s had any other job. Though to him it didn’t really matter his lack of being able to compare because no other job would have him travelling to the shadiest parts on the outskirts of the town to meet up with the biggest challenge he’s ever faced while having to basically babysit Soonyoung.

“Why did I have to come along with you?”

It amazed Jihoon sometimes how Soonyoung was (slightly) older than him. One of those times was they walked to the “market”, as many within this business referred to it as. Soonyoung was never really a fan of coming here, and even though Jihoon couldn’t blame him he got a little tired of hearing it fast.

“You heard Seungcheol, he wants you to learn how to help out in every aspect of our job.”

“I wouldn’t have to if he just let me go out and do thief work on my own.”

“Perhaps you should’ve thought about that before the Incidents.”

“They were _accidents_!”

“Yeah, _five accidents_ in a _row_.”

Soonyoung kept up in trying to defend himself but Jihoon already had blocked him out as they entered a clearing in the woods where multiple stands were set up. He already knew exactly where to head to.

You always set your stand up right in the middle of the shady market, much like your father used to do when you were a child. Not really the type of family business one would think their child should get into, but your family wasn’t really a traditional type of family. Not surprising, considering a lot of your business was done with thieves and many other shady folk. Though none of your clientele interested you as much as Jihoon did. 

Your day was fairly boring and you rested your head on your hand thinking about what your plans for dinner were once you were done here when you saw him from across the clearing. He wasn’t the tallest person there, but he had a certain air to him. Of course, he and his partner were in their disguises and you had to refer to him as Woozi while he was here, but to you that was part of the fun. The little secret that you got to know his true name got you excited and spiced up your life ~~(it also made your heart flutter a little, but you weren’t telling anyone that)~~. 

You perked up instantly as he approached you, a sack of items he brought along with him to sell slung across his back. And despite his ramblings, your instant attitude change didn’t go unnoticed from Soonyoung.

Now you and Soonyoung weren’t exactly close, in fact you found him to be more of an annoyance you had to keep an eye on to ensure he didn’t break anything you were offering for sale. And he found you to be a little bit intimidating, he also wasn’t very fond of your attitude towards him all the time. _He only broke something one time! …Okay, maybe it was twice, but that’s not the point!_

Despite your differences, Soonyoung has seen you enough times that he knows for a fact you have something for Jihoon. And maybe that annoyed you even more with the thief. He always had this knowing smirk on his face and it drove you mad! 

Though you didn’t know it obviously, but Soonyoung was also well aware that Jihoon had a thing for you too. Now, he wasn’t exactly supposed to be goofing off and playing matchmaker during these visits, but he couldn’t help it! You two clearly liked each other and, in Soonyoung’s eyes, were perfect for each other. You both were just a little too stubborn to see it. Caught up in your nonstop banter always trying to one up the other. You referred to yourselves as rivals even though you weren’t even a thief and Jihoon was by no means a merchant. Even if you did tell him once he would be great at it, it really wasn’t for him. Plus you knew he cared about his brothers too much to not continue to be a part of their business, yet just another thing you liked about him.

You just wished this one brother of his had stayed behind. Because the moment you perked up at Jihoon walked towards you, you felt your face drop in a glare as Soonyoung grinned at you. Of course, he caught how you were acting. He always did. You opted to try to ignore it though, focusing on the one you were actually excited to see.

"How's my favorite client today?" 

"I'm only your favorite because I bring you in so much money."

His words had a playful tone to it, you knew he wasn't serious as he dropped the sack down in front of you to reveal what items he had to sell today. About as you suspected. When you’re dealing with stolen items from the rich there’s some things you come to expect. Fancy dishware, simple items made from material much more expensive than any common folk could afford, maybe a piece of clothing here or there. Jihoon wasn’t much different in what he brought, though sometimes he would throw you off guard with a surprise item he knew you couldn’t turn down ~~(not that you ever turned him down in the first place)~~ , but he was a great bargainer. So were you.

Which means your favorite part of the day began, a smirk instantly tugging at your lips. “This is about the same items and same amount as you brought in last time, don’t you think you should be sold the same price for it?”

“Now you and I both know the clothing I brought in today is made with material more expensive than last week’s. I think I should get at least an extra 500.”

“Hm. How about 200?”

“400.”

“300.”

“350. That’s as low as I will go.”

“You have a deal.”

Today was certainly simpler than others. Some days you could both debate for hours about how much to offer, but you already had a price in mind that was a fairly good deal. There was always bound to be some bargaining, but looks like you got out of here easy this time.

_What a shame._

You loved the days when you two would argue for hours about prices, it gave you a bit of an excuse to see him more. Also you couldn’t deny, you really enjoyed seeing Jihoon worked up, especially if it was because of your own actions.

Jihoon couldn’t deny, he was also a little bit disappointed. He knew he could stay and chat to you if he wanted to, but he was a bit too awkward to do so. Especially with Soonyoung there. So he let you gather the money and hand it over before placing the items into where you kept everything you bought that day. Generally, you wouldn’t dare pay anyone until you had time to take the items back and study to make sure they were real, but you may have trusted Jihoon a little bit too much. Plus you knew he would need the money right away, as it usually went to the community and truly you wanted to assist in any way you could.

Unfortunately, you wished it wasn’t something you had to do today as you watched Jihoon leave so soon. The fun was over, which meant back to serious business.

Soonyoung’s fun, on the other hand, was not finished in the slightest.

“Go back and ask her out.”

“No.”

“We both know you wanted to stay longer and talk to her. So ask her out and you can talk to her later.”

“We have more important things than romance to be worrying about, Soonyoung.”

Soonyoung sighed, but he wasn’t going to give up. He wants the best for his brothers, even if Jihoon is a stubborn one.

“I get you’re supposed to be the voice of reason, but throwing yourself into your work because you’re too nervous to ask a girl out isn’t very reasonable.”

“Seems reasonable enough to me.”

“ _Haha!_ So you admit it!”

“Yes! I admit it!” Jihoon threw his arms up, exasperated, “Are you happy now?”

“I won’t be happy until you go back to talk to her.”

“Then I guess you aren’t going to be happy.”

“And you won’t be either.”

He hated when Soonyoung was right. But he knew Jihoon far too well. The two had grown up together, after all. They were brothers, but also really good friends at the same time, even if Jihoon grew annoyed with Soonyoung antics every now and then. 

The two practically always knew each other. The only difference was Soonyoung was brought to the orphanage not too long after he was born. Jihoon, however, was about two when he was left there. He didn’t know anything about his parents, but to be fair, neither did the two who he considered his parents. He was just left there at the doorstep, crying out for his mother. But he was two years old. There was no way today he would remember anything about her. And in his mind, whoever his original mother was didn’t even matter. His mom was the kind lady who ran the orphanage. Due to that situation though, and their closeness in age, Soonyoung and him grew close. Soonyoung also didn’t know anything about his parents, and it made their connection even stronger in a way. They were brothers in all but blood. 

Which made it extremely easy for Soonyoung to know what Jihoon was thinking. And that Jihoon was going to turn around and go right back to you anyway. And he did. Oddly enough, Soonyoung bugging him gave him a small burst of confidence. 

It wasn’t like they had been gone for long, maybe thirty minutes at most. It didn’t take too long either for them to get back, and enter just in time to see you physically fighting, and winning, with a client.

Jihoon instantly was ready to step in, but he had no need to as you (quite literally) kicked the client out as the man ran past with the two who arrived with clear injuries on him.

“ _Get out!_ I told you already you’re not allowed to do business with me anymore!”

“You bitch! This is far from over!”

The man shouted, angering Jihoon in the process. He did nothing though as the man left, there wasn’t a point to attack more. He was already defeated. Didn’t change the fact Jihoon despised hearing anyone genuinely insult you. You might not be the most polite of people, but you sure as hell weren’t a bad person. Far from it, in fact. One of the many things that made him fall for you so easily was your kindness towards the fact him and his brothers wanted to help the village. The way you broke your own rules for him in order to help.

When someone screwed you over though, you didn’t mince words. You were strict in that way, especially with your business. Jihoon fully understood that mentally, perhaps he could just do without you being so willing to fight.

“Are you okay?”

He practically ran back up to you, checking you over as you brushed yourself off.

“Yeah, just an old client I cut off came back and tried to do business with me again. He tried to scam me the other day for the second time even though I told him what would happen if he tried to do it again. Oh well. Some people never learn, I suppose.”

Your small rant over, you took a second as you looked at Jihoon. “Wait… What are you doing back here?”

_Shit. He didn’t really plan this far ahead._

“Well, I was just wondering if you’d…. like to do something later on tonight?”

Your irritable mood perked up instantly. Of course you and Jihoon did things together all the time when you were both free, but it seemed different this time. Well, sort of. He hesitated at least, something not common for him.

Or maybe you had your hopes too high because you wanted nothing more to go on a date with a client you've been crushing on forever now and had hopes in your gut that just maybe he liked you back.

Either way you weren’t going to turn down the offer. “Sure! My father is going to be taking over for me in a couple of hours anyway. I’ve been out here since early this morning and I could use a break, and he agreed with me.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

Jihoon grinned and so did you. A small moment of you two looking at each other before well, awkwardly saying goodbyes again and Jihoon dragging a smirking Soonyoung back out of the clearing.

You started humming quietly as you went back to your work soon after. The day certainly just got better.

The rest of the day passed by slowly, but finally your father arrived and you were out of there after filling him in on both the sales and trades that happened so far.

There was a certain spot in the forest that you and Jihoon usually met at it and tonight was no different. He was already there as you arrived, his mask off and in normal attire. You enjoyed seeing his face much more than him in his disguise. 

“So what’s the plan?” 

You asked as you walked up to him.

“Not sure. Figured we could go to our usual spot near the sea and spend some time there.”

“Works for me.”

If you walked through the forest long enough, you’d eventually come out to the sea. And it was beautiful. And basically empty as no one ever entered from this area. They come in closer towards where nobles lived to deliver their goods or gather for luxurious celebrations. The small village was basically ignored and certainly the forest was too. No one of importance lived there.

It was a peaceful spot for you and Jihoon to go to. You would chat or maybe even go for a swim. No matter what though, it was always a good time.

_You weren’t able to make it there._

You cursed yourself instantly for not listening to your ex-client’s warning earlier as him and his men surrounded you and Jihoon. Of course they followed you. You should’ve known. But you were too focused on Jihoon to pay attention to your surroundings.

“Oh, is this your little boyfriend? How romantic would it be for you to die together?”

He was taunting you, believing he had the upper hand. And you were outnumbered. But neither you nor Jihoon would go down without a fight.

“How petty.”

“Huh?”

“Trying to harm me simply because I won’t do business with you anymore. I know you were pathetic, but not this pathetic.”

“Shut the fuck up, you---”

He didn’t get another word in as Jihoon landed a punch right to his face. “Do you mind not provoking the enemy right now?”

He admired how you could stick up for yourself, but was now really the time? Even if you were right about what you said.

“Sorry, couldn’t help myself. Besides, this won’t be a hard fight and you know it.”

You turn instantly, slamming your foot into the stomach of the man who charged at you, a fight starting the moment Jihoon got a strike in.

You were right. It wasn’t a hard or long fight. Perhaps had they known they wouldn’t have risked fighting the two of you, but there was no way to be aware Jihoon was a notorious thief much more spoken about than the ones that laid knocked out around you. And as for you, some of your clientele doubted your ability to fight back. Yes, you weren’t a thief like them, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t fend for yourself. You were taught to fight from a young age, and you certainly more skilled than most of the people who took up the same job position as you.

So it was no surprise you took them down easily. Even if two against five wasn’t a fair fight. But when were things ever fair in this world?

You took a moment to breathe and make yourself look a bit less messed up. “So, should we head to our spot now?”

Jihoon just stood there, staring at you.

“I think I’m in love with you.”

“...What.”

“ _Wait-!_ I didn’t mean-- I--”

“I think I’m in love with you too.”

“I was just-- Wait-- _Really?_ ”

You smiled. “Yes. I didn’t really expect it to come out like this, though.”

He smiled nervously, trying to look away and hide the blush growing on his face. “Sorry. You just… looked really good fighting like that. Also I despised how that man spoke to you. It sort of just came out.”

“Don’t apologize. I’m glad you said it.”

You both walked closer to each other, caught up in the moment and went in for a kiss. It was only for a moment though before you pulled away. “Can we maybe do this some place more romantic? And not around a pile of unconscious bodies?”

He laughed slightly before grabbing your hand. “Of course.”

You headed towards your spot by the sea, but Jihoon spoke up again. “Does this mean as your partner I get a special extra payment now?”

“You wish.”

“Worth a shot.”

You both laughed, enjoying the moment.

You really had no idea how things would end that day, but truly it ended much better than you could’ve ever imagined.

Now, Jihoon just had to deal with Soonyoung having a field day with this information when he got back to their home.


	3. Run To You ღ Kwon Soonyoung

To steal from the rich and give to the poor. A story you were told all the time as a child. A tale of a vigilante thief who protected the community. You loved it. It was something you understood clearly as from a young age you knew how cruel your world was. You wished that one day your hero would come nonetheless, despite being aware how unlikely such things were.

Funny enough, you found that hero. Well, sort of.

Soonyoung, or Hoshi - the name you were solely supposed to know him by, was an odd sort of hero that’s for sure. When you first met him he had slipped up and told you his real name. He was lucky that not only were you desperate for his help and aware the Kingdom would do nothing for you even if you turned him in, but you were also kind and had taken a quick liking to the thief. 

He was nothing like the thief you had imagined and longed for to come help your family as a kid, yet somehow he was so much better. He was ridiculous at times, but he never failed to make you laugh. To make you enjoy yourself. To make you forget about the unfortunate cruel reality you were living in. Your moments spent with him over the years were the most precious to you.

You had started seeing him more recently. At least once a week usually. Which you would’ve been happy about if not due to the circumstances.

Your mother was ill. Well, more like she’s been ill since you were young. No one really knew what was wrong with her, you were simply told that it was likely she would only get worse. Your father did a fairly good job at making sure to get enough money to pay for what your family needed and also for the treatment for your mother. Or, test treatment at least. With no clear cause as to what it was, the doctors had to try out many different options.

It wasn’t that bad though. Your mother was still able to walk around freely, and some days were better than others. And by the time you reached thirteen, your mother had twins. 

However, it was around that time everything took a turn for the worst. 

Your father turned up dead, and you found out quickly why. The only way he was able to have enough money for your family was to work with the shadier parts of the kingdom, and when he wouldn’t comply with all their wishes, they simply got rid of him.

And since there was no way for your mother to do hard labor with her condition, the nobility wouldn’t allow it in pure dumb fear they’d somehow catch whatever she had, your father’s debt from the money they paid him was now on your shoulders. Because even though he worked fairly for it, of course they didn’t care about such things. He betrayed them in their eyes, and now you had to pay them back.

Unfortunately childbirth only worsened your mother’s condition, and while she was okay for the first few years as you worked hard to pay off your family’s debt, things wouldn’t go well forever.

Your mother tried to work around the village, that was no problem. It was hard for her, yes, but everyone was willing to give her small tasks she could do. It was how your family got by at first.

It was around the time you were eighteen when your mother basically became bed ridden. She could move around a bit, of course, but nothing major. Doctor visits became more and more frequent, and it seemed like the pay they asked from you only increased. You ended up having to take up many other jobs around the village just to simply pay for your family surviving. You should’ve made enough from your first job, however, that was for paying off the debt. And it also wasn’t a job you chose to work at. It was a small circus made up of many people like you, forced to work for the nobility to pay off their debts. Luckily, you weren’t one of the performers. No, the performers were unable to leave to go back to the village. You didn’t know why, you just knew their debts were much worse than yours. You just cleaned up after the acts, but you would never see a penny from your hard work.

And as the exhaustion from working there, working to get money for your family, _and_ taking care of your siblings and mother caught up to you, you almost found yourself giving up.

Enter Soonyoung, who came to save you after one of the kind villagers you worked for often tipped off the thieves that your family desperately needed help. 

Admittedly at first, you felt slightly bad taking the money. But you needed it to survive. To help feed your siblings. To pay for your mother’s medical care. And as time went on you felt less guilty and more frustrated that the Kingdom cared so little of your situation that whether you went hungry or not was of no worry to them. Even the doctors who cared for your mother lived comfortably taking more and more money despite being aware you could barely pay for what they asked of you now. And even though there was an increase, their actual treatments became fewer and fewer.

Which led to now. Your mother currently needing medical supervision 24/7, therefore them demanding even more money from you. You feared asking the thieves to increase what they gave to you, though they had not a single problem with it.

You even convinced Soonyoung to let you speak to their leader, Seungcheol, who you had met on a couple occasions before but never to ask for a money increase. Yet he agreed with no hesitation. 

They all knew what you were going through, and as long as you needed it, they would supply you with as much money as you asked. And even if they didn’t know, they were fully aware Soonyoung wouldn’t shut up about it until they agreed. Not that he needed to beg for their approval on the subject, they were there to help the village after all, but such a factor made the decision a whole lot easier.

“You know, you could always just come live with me and my brothers,” Soonyoung told you for perhaps the tenth time as you met up again. 

“I don’t want to be a burden on you all… You’ve been so kind to me, but that’s just way too much. Besides I’m sure you only have so much room.”

You couldn’t deny that you would love to have some help with your siblings sometimes, and the idea of living with the man you personally believe to have saved your life was extremely tempting. It wasn’t a concept you would allow yourself to act on though for some reason. Oddly enough, it was one of the few times you had managed to tell the thief no. Any other moment all he had to do was look at you with sad eyes and you would agree, no matter how reluctant. This time, however, you were worried and nervous. If things didn’t work out, where would your family go? Certainly not back to the village. The moment you fail to show up to pay your father’s seemingly never ending debt, they’d send guards out to find you. If they didn’t at least you would be at peace for then, but if you had to leave? It would be hell. But if they did find you, all the boys' lives would be in danger as well. It was a risk you were too afraid to take.

Soonyoung didn’t seem to have a care about that, however. “It won’t be a problem! Sure, the orphanage is small compared to others, and it could use a lot of work done on it, but it’s managed to hold fourteen of us, it can hold a couple more.”

“That’s a nice way to put it, but shouldn’t you at least ask Seungcheol before trying to get me to agree?”

“Already did! He said it was perfectly okay! Plus we have three people with plenty of medical experience in our group, as I’ve told you. We’d be able to take care of your mother perfectly fine.”

His voice turned to one of hatred for a second before he spoke his next words. “Perhaps even better than those bastards who work for the Kingdom.”

“I’m still not sure….”

He placed a gentle hand on your shoulder and looked deep into your eyes. You don’t see Soonyoung deadly serious often, so when you do it always catches you off guard. “Think about it, okay? I’ve already got everything prepared for if you do want to live with us.”

You nodded, practically speechless. Sometimes it’s hard to believe this man is the same one who spilled his guts to you when you first met. But he was extremely serious about you living with them. He planned it all out and even discussed it deeply with Seungcheol before even trying to ask you. He cared about you way too much to see you have to keep living like this. You’d be safe with them, that much he knew. If only he knew how to confess his feelings. He longed for the days he’d be able to be with you constantly, and not just in these secret meetings for a couple of hours at most. But to drop such information on you in your current situation he believed would just be too selfish. So he would wait patiently, for as long as it took until it felt okay to do so.

But that day would not be today as you said your goodbyes way too soon and hurried off to make dinner for your siblings. 

However, you forget something then. In fact, you actually forgot the money Soonyoung was supposed to give to you as your conversation was so intense. It had just slipped your mind, and even Soonyoung’s until a couple minutes after you left he remembered it in his bag.

He debated his options. It was dark enough, he could just slip into the village and slide it in through a window. It would be the best option. He knew you would be needing the money after all.

As he sneaked up to your home though, he found himself hiding deep into the shadows as you shouted about something.

“I have not committed any crimes! I have no clue what you’re talking about!”

“Oh, so someone of your status somehow managed to collect all that money on your own then?”

A scoff came from the man in armor who had been speaking to you. “Admit you have been obtaining money from thieves or maybe even participating in such acts yourself and perhaps some pity will be taken on you.”

“I have done no such thing!”

“Fine then. You will be led to the dungeons within the castle as the King and Queen decide your punishment. Come with us.”

There were at least three guards there, which was absolutely ridiculous as you were not a strong intimidating person. One would have been enough, but no they wanted to disguise you as a dangerous criminal. 

“But-- My siblings--”

The guard showed not an ounce of sympathy as he glanced at the two children in the doorway of your home, crying for their sister. “They can fend for themselves. Unless you would rather them be punished the same as you.”

You hung your head, in an attempt to hide your tears from your siblings. “No. It’s fine. I’ll go with you.”

“Wise decision.”

Soonyoung felt his blood boil as the guards took you away. But he also felt an extreme amount of guilt. 

You were to be put on trial for crimes he and his brothers committed. And he knew there would only be one outcome for such.

_Death._

He wanted to steal you away and save you at that very moment, but he had no weapons on him to fight off three armed guards. 

The most he could do was try to hide his rage as he slipped closer to your home and quietly called out to your siblings, them running over to him as soon as they recognized him.

He had met them a handful of times, when they basically begged to come along with you to meet the man that they let slip to him that you spoke about all the time. You did not get away without a lot of teasing on his part after that.

He comforted them softly as he led them away from the village. “It’s okay. It’s okay. For now we can go back to my place, okay?”

They nodded as he was able to calm them down just in the slightest.

“And don’t worry. I _will_ save your sister.”

He wasn’t fully sure on how he would do such a thing yet, but he meant it. He would not stop until you were safely in his arms and away from that cruel life. Away from any threat that harmed you.

When he burst through the doors of the orphanage with two young children and a look of murder on his face, everyone knew something was wrong.

“They…. took her.”

It was all he could really get out. He didn’t have the strength to tell the full story, letting the others piece it together through your siblings shouting and asking for the thieves help. After Seungcheol reassured them he would, his girlfriend gently took the two off to calm them down some more and to get some rest. She was fully aware the others would need to talk, and it would likely be a conversation the children didn’t need to hear.

_“I’m going to kill those bastards.”_

It’s all he could say after he was sure the children were no longer in ear shot. The only thing on his mind. 

“Soonyoung, calm down. I understand you’re angry but that will do nothing to help you here.”

Seungcheol led him gently to the couch to sit and take a moment to breathe.

“We need a plan. The King and Queen aren’t stupid. If we charge into the palace to get to the dungeon we’ll be dead before we even reach the steps.”

And he knew he was right.

“Okay… But what about her mom? We need to go get her too!”

“Alright, let’s calm down and work it out.”

Soonyoung nodded, completely defeated and exhausted from the events that just took place. He believed in his brothers, truly he did, but he still felt fear at the idea of losing you.

“Minghao, we’re gonna need your disguise expertise for this one.”

Minghao gave a quick thumbs up, taking out his little book he always carried on him in case he needed to put together costumes so he could take notes on what he needed.

“Medical team - Joshua, Wonwoo, and Mingyu, I’ll leave you to infiltrate the place where they have her mother. You know what you’re doing, and I trust you can get her out of there without a problem.”

The three nodded in agreement, Minghao quickly writing down what was needed for them to sneak in.

“Jihoon, Jun, and Seokmin - I’m putting you on duty to find out information on what they plan to do with her…. And her execution date if it comes down to that.”

Soonyoung wanted the thought out of his head. Execution? No way, that was too extreme! But he knew the Kingdom wasn’t fair and in the end that was what it would come down to. 

_And it did._

The guards constantly tried to convince you in your prison that if you just gave up the thieves' names and locations that helped you, they would let you go. You knew it was bullshit though, they’d just kill you along with the others. So you refused, time and time again. When they realized you wouldn’t speak, you were labeled as a thief. And your execution date was quickly set.

You weren’t exactly high priority though. They knew full well you weren’t a thief, and that no one would be coming to save you. Only about four guards were deemed necessary, and they led you out to the middle of the village, prepared to hang you for your “crimes.” 

“Consider this a lesson to you all, if you disobey the Kingdom, you will end up like your little friend here,” the guard dragging you along by the ropes that tied your hands together lectured to the crowd. The crowd that rioted in hopes it would change anything, not that it would. Most were far too weak or too afraid to do anything. You only let out a sigh of relief knowing your siblings weren’t there, not wanting them to see the scene.

You were dragged closer, and you inhaled as you counted down the seconds to your death. Until everything stopped when a voice cried out was heard. “Her mother! She’s disappeared-!”

Your head turned the best it could towards the direction of the shouting voice. It was one of the people who was supposed to be taking care of your mother.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“She just disappeared on us! We can’t find her!”

“Did you have something to do with this?”

The guard shook you harshly, but you were just as surprised. “ _Answer me!_ ”

“She didn’t. But _we did_.”

Even the crowd looked shocked as another voice appeared out of nowhere, and very close to you. The guard had dropped you in surprise, and after hitting the ground you turned your body the best you could to see Soonyoung standing there, a blade pressed into the guard’s throat.

The other guards went to step forward, but it only took a second for the others to appear, quickly taking them down and leaving them unconscious. 

“So you were a thief after all-!”

“No, she wasn’t. But we heard about your little stunt and we’re not letting shit like this happen anymore. Changes are going to take place in this Kingdom, even if it has to be at our hands.”

“That’s absurd! You and your useless group can’t do an-”

“I’ve had enough of your shit.”

Soonyoung wasted not a second in knocking the last guard unconscious, and scooping you up in his arms. He glanced at the last person there of any high ranking, the one who reported your mother missing. “If you even try to come after us, I can’t promise you worse won’t happen to you.”

His brothers had already scattered in different directions anyway, making it extremely hard for them to even try to follow where you were headed. But Soonyoung wanted to make it clear. He wasn’t going to allow anyone to harm you _or_ his family. 

He took off with you soon after his final message, not stopping until they made it to a good clearing and he was sure no one had been following him.

He untied your arms and held you tightly, placing gentle kisses on your face until he reached your lips. “God, I thought I lost you…”

“Thank you… But aren’t you all at even more risk now?”

He chuckled, “Not anymore than usual. They still don’t know anything about us. Besides, they needed to be knocked down a peg.”

“You make a good point,” You joined in laughing softly with him.

Perhaps it was the adrenaline or the fact your faces were so close along with feelings that built up for so long, but you found your lips connecting.

And for a while you didn’t stop. Just kiss after kiss until you needed to catch your breath, and also not wanting to make the others worry too much. Though if a small lecture about why he shouldn’t have stopped for a long time and cause stress on the others was all he had waiting in store, it was worth it to finally share his feelings to you.

“So what does this make us now?”

“Traditionally, I believe we would be a couple.”

You laughed as Soonyoung practically cheered at your words.

“So that means you live with us now?!”

“... Not like I really have a choice.”

“Oh. Right.”

He nervously chuckled, you giving him another kiss to forgive him for his small mistake.

“We already have your mother and siblings back at the orphanage, so it works out anyway!”

“You really planned this whole thing out, huh?”

“Well… Our leader did. But clearly I executed it!”

Normal Soonyoung. He was really making you feel so at peace even though you had nearly just died.

“Alright, let’s head back then. I’m excited to see my new home.”

He grinned, scooping you back up in his arms and running off towards the ‘hideout.’ 

_It certainly wasn’t in a traditional way that you had dreamed of as a kid, but you did in fact find the hero that you had longed for all this time._


End file.
